The pup has been in Colton's heart since he was a babe in his dachshund mom's belly.The only boy in the litter, he began showing signs of illness at just three months old. Frequent limping led him to a visit to the vet's office, which led to a diagnosis of Legg Perthes disease.

According to Colton, it's a common ailment of little dogs, is likely genetic and usually crops up early in life. It causes a stoppage of blood flow and leads to clots, he said.

PetWave.com further explains that the clog causes "spontaneous disintegration and collapse of the top of a dog's long thigh bone, the femur. ... causing the bone and surrounding cartilage to degenerate and die. The affected hip joint becomes disfigured, loses its structural integrity and becomes extremely painful. Eventually, it collapses and no longer can bear weight."

The dog soon underwent surgery in an attempt to repair damage to his hip. It didn't work.

"He had to be woken up during surgery because his heart rate dropped very low. He was in intensive care for 3 days," Colton recalled. "After bringing him home I realized he wasn't using his back leg and he wasn't getting any better."

More bad news followed. Specialists from the University of California, Davis animal hospital were called in to consult and their conclusions weren't positive.

"They told me I needed to put him down, there was nothing I could do," he said, still emotional about the experience. "I grew up in foster care. I grew up in the system since I was 1 until I was emancipated at 18. I don't have any family. I always told myself if I had kids, I'd never raise kids the way I was raised. ... I'd be devastated without him."

So, after ponying up $900 for the medical work, he shelled out for two more surgeries. The next one occurred when "Anthony Mater" was six months old, to clear out fluids that had accumulated in his lungs, heart and brain. The third came when the canine was 7 1/2 months old, to amputate a rear hind leg.

Financial hardship followed, as Colton suffers from seizures and lives on a limited income gleaned from Social Security payments. But that's what you do for loved ones, he emphasized, adding that he always made sure the pup's needs -- including expensive medications -- always came before his own. It's a philosophy he still practices.

These days, the dog is doing as well as can be. He has developed seizures and brain damage due to the disease, but is otherwise happy. He traipses around at home without his wheeled contraption, which he usually only uses when out on excursions. The wheelchair was donated by an anonymous contributor. A new one will be needed to better fit his larger form, Colton said, and he's attempting to raise the $700 or so that will be needed to obtain it.

Depending on further degeneration of his bones, future surgeries may be needed.

"At this point, it's watching his quality of life," Colton said. "It's pretty fantastic having him around. It's really heartwarming to give him love and receive it back."